The Infinite Dial

As has been noted here (and elsewhere) extensively this week, the biggest channels in the recently released satellite radio Arbitron numbers have been relatively mainstream choices. All of which makes one of the exceptions stand out. XM's third most listened to channel, "XM13 Willie's Place," isn't its mainstream Country Gold channel, that's "XM10 America." Willie's Place is traditional Country, stretching back to Hank Williams and Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys. There are newer recordings (e.g., Reba McEntire & Asleep at the Wheel covering Classic Country songs), but there is nothing that could be called contemporary.

Here's Willie's Place this morning at 10:55 a.m.:

Amazing Rhythm Aces, "Yippe Yi Yo Yo"
Faron Young, "Hello Walls"
Bob Willis & Texas Playboys, "Roly Poly"
Vern Gosdin, "Right In The Wrong Direction"
Asleep At The Wheel & Reba McEntire, "Right Or Wrong"
Charley Pride, "Just Between You And Me"
Leroy VanDyke, "If A Woman Answers (Hang Up The Phone)"
Boxcar Willie, "Long Black Limousine"
Ray Price, "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You"
Jack Green, "What Locks The Door"
Tommy Overstreet, "Don't Go City Girl On Me"
Hank Williams, "Lovesick Blues"
Rusty & Doug Kershaw, "Jole Blon"

There's not a song there that you could expect to hear on mainstream Country radio and only two or three I could even imagine hearing on KXBL (Big Country) Tulsa, Okla. -- a Classic Country FM that actually manages to surprise me from time to time. So how is this station No. 3 among XM channels in AQH and pulling more than 400,000 listeners a week?

XM senior VP/music programming Jon Zellner says that even before the channel was rebranded from "Hank's Place" to "Willie's Place" that "it's always been a huge channel for us. TSL and overall listener satisfaction is the driver. Also, we do very well in the south where Classic Country is and/or could be a bonafide format." You can also look at the surprise success of Easy Listening "XM78: Escape" and argue that XM has done pretty well at creating a tier of channels for disenfranchised older listeners.

It's also worth noting that "Willie's Place" remains one of the most distinct experiences and most produced channels on satellite radio. The two overlapping shifts I heard were both hosted and the first jock was touting an upcoming remote. It is, in other words, a real radio station. And because it is, some records that would sound old and creaky if they were just being segued one after another sound exotic instead.